Ginseng is among today’s most popular herbal remedies. Walk the aisles of any health store and you can’t miss it: ginseng in capsules, liquid extracts, teas, tinctures, and more. Yet ginseng is no medicinal newcomer - the herb boasts a long, distinguised history as an adaptogen, tonic, central nervous system stimulant and circulatory stimulant. Centuries of Chinese healers have used it to fight such wide-ranging ills as low blood pressure, general weakness, malaise, mental deficiency and sexual dysfunction. In fact, some of the earliest recorded usgaes of the herb - to increase libido and strenghthen “weak mentality” - come from Emperor Shen nung, who began his reign in 2800BC and is considered China’s patron saint of herbal medicine.

(more…)